Midnight Moon
by Rozen Phoenix
Summary: "To be or not to be..."   To dream or not to. Where there's life, there's hope, but what if...when hope dies?  This is really random, I'll probably update later...   Ignore genres if they annoy you; they're kinda random...
1. Tamed Cat

DSCLAIMER – I do not own Black Cat or any of the characters in it. I do, however, own my fanfic, as well as my OC(s).

* * *

_**How It Began:**_

_Creed went out with his Taoist master, and they found another potential ally. They fed him the potion, as they always did, and waited._

_This new recruit, by the name Colden Aruspekz had an amazing power – the power to erase and create people, a power that even Creed secretly feared. After all, with this new power, Colden neared the power of God, which Creed could not even aspire to reach._

_However, Colden remained loyal to he who freed him from the hellish pits of his prison cell. He joined the Apostles of the Stars, and followed Creed's orders. _

_He was sent on many a mission, to help recruit yet more people. After all, with his power, he could easily defeat all prison guards._

_However, the full extent of Colden's power, and exactly what it did, was hidden from Creed. The only thing Creed knew was that it could create and erase humans. He did not know how that was achieved – whether Colden's power destroyed the physical being or the mental, or if it simply unmade the mind was all mystery to Creed. _

_But Creed did not care. He cared more for the final result than the means by which they were reached. All he knew was that Shiki was needed to help ease the use of Colden's power, and that they would regain Black Cat for him...

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_

_Shiki has a seal that can bind a person. That is the power needed, for Colden's power takes time to work._

_Therefore, Shiki goes with Colden on missions. He also has the job of reporting back to Creed and supervising the proceedings.

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_

_In the end, Creed was left with no choice. He assigned Colden to the task of detaining Train and bringing him back._

_Little did Creed know that that was exactly what he should have done in the first place.

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**How it Happened:**

_Train sighed, then preceded Sven and Eve out of the coffee shop in Alrock City. They had been (unsuccessfully) tracking yet another small-fry criminal. As usual, they were low on money, and had only been able to order a bit of food. Train had grumbled about the lack of food, then started sulking._

_None of them noticed the black shadow observing them from the shade of a nearby alleyway.

* * *

_

_They were engaged in a fight between the criminal they were tracking and his new accomplices. Suddenly, Creed's Taoist appeared on one of his bugs. He throws several seals at Train from all directions. Train is surrounded by the seals, and has no way to escape._

_He is caught by Shiki's bindings, and is taken away. Sven and Eve were distracted by another of the Apostles._

_Shiki takes Train to a place high in the mountains, and put in a bare room that is completely sealed off._

_Colden enters, then begins work.

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**How it Continues:**_

(Colden's POV)

Here before me was the reason of all our grief. As much as I loved my power, I hated it. Thus is how I held Creed, with a love-hate relationship, as – I believe – all Apostles held him in their regard.

But that is of no consequence. As much as I hated my power, the thrill of wielding it was more than enough to make up for the downside.

I immediately commenced to work.

What my power did was give me sway over minds. After all, I had been arrested for livestock theft and murder. My previous occupation was divining the future from entails. I preferred human, but I usually used animals, as they were easier to come by.

It only makes sense that I now have the power to manipulate a person's past, present, and future, so to say.

My power works solely in the mind. I could destroy a person, as in their personality, their consciousness, and create new ones. In just destroying a person's mind, the person's body would die as a result. However, if I created a new one and inserted that in, that person would live, but they would start from the very beginning. That person would be like an infant in mind.

Before now, I've only been able to create blanks, basically burning the book – excluding the cover, which would be the body in my analogy – and putting in a completely new set of pages.

In Train's case, my power only extends so far as gluing in another page on top of the previous ones. After all, I wanted his old memories to be kept. I could put new blank pages in the book, so to say, but I could not rewrite what was there before on the new empty set, and I did not yet have the skills to insert individual blank pages in. If I wished to keep even one "chapter" – or even one "page" – of the "old book," then I'd have to just paste blank pages over the others and write over it, if I so wished. Thus was the limit of my power.

However, therein lays the problem. With enough stimuli, a person could, potentially, remember what I have suppressed. However, it was not my job to worry about this right now.

Mister Creed already told me what he wanted.

Train was to keep his memories of being Black Cat, but from there, I was to erase all his memories of some woman named "Saya" and insert new ones.

Train was supposed to have been betrayed by Chronos, thereby motivating him to break away. When he heard that his "beloved ex-partner" Creed was forming a revolution, he hastened to join.

Basically, I was to bring back "Black Cat," but to make him loyal to Creed. A simple enough task.

I took care to, following the book analogy, paste as many layers of "blank pages" as I dare, then on the top layer "writing in" the new memories.

I did not yet have the power to directly insert the new memories into the slots where they belonged – as in taking out memories and putting in new ones, which would solve Creed's problem permanently – without doing damage to Train's mind, and I doubt that would make Creed happy.

As I went through Train's memories, I suddenly realized a problem to what Creed had requested. "Black Cat" was not loyal to anyone other than himself. I could not do what Creed requested without changing "Black Cat." What was I to do?

Suddenly, it came to me, a way to keep Train in the Apostles without having to make Black Cat "loyal" to anyone.

I hastened to work. With this one problem solved, work proceeded swiftly.

Three days later, I was finished. However, I still held Train in the trance I imposed on him to make his mind more malleable. I had no wish to face the Black Cat awake in his original state. I would wait until Creed's arrival.

* * *

**A/N - Hello people! I am back from my loong break. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I haven't updated anything, and instead have added something new to procrastinate on? Well, I'm (kind of) getting there! I realized that as the days and weeks went by, my knowledge of the stuff I do fanfics on would keep on deteriorating, and so I decided to screw the timing and just get on with it. This was done anyway, so I thought I might as well add it, just to show people that I'm still alive. Please R&R. (Remember, this was written probably a couple years back. Don't exactly sugar-coat, but don't kill me for it ^^)**


	2. Belladonna

_DISCLAIMER – I do not own Black Cat or any of the characters in it. I do, however, own my fanfic and my OC(s)._

A/N – Ugg don't mind my fail. I'm horrible out of practice in writing, and it shows. There's a lot of description I'm not happy with, but I've decided to just press through it. And I have also decided to disregard timing my fanfics with the originals. Yes, it's nice, but it's impeding my progress...

Also, due to the variations of naming, I am going to be using the names as featured in Wikipedia, which I shall assume to be the "official" versions.

**Chapter Two**

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(Train's POV)

I awoke, disorientated in a strange room. My memories were oddly blurry, as if I had been spinning rapidly.

They immediately settled in, making me wonder if I had actually imagined the disorientation. Everything seemed correct. I was wearing my black overcoat, and Hades was in my hip holster.

I was in my room in Creed's headquarters high up in the mountains. I wondered why I had even doubted it.

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(Creed's POV)

I stood behind the partially open door, watching Train wake up, then look observe the room. I took care to watch his eyes, and was not disappointed. Train-kun's beautiful, cold eyes were back! Colden had done a fine job again.

My precious Train-kun was back!

Of course, Colden had explained to me why he couldn't make Train devoted to the Apostles, or to me, but when I considered what he had said, I knew it made sense. How stupid I was so ask Colden to do such a thing! If he hadn't noticed and went through with it, it would have made Train less than what I wanted. He would not have been Black Cat.

I entered the room, then paused. Of course, Train was not surprised. After all, he is a first class assassin.

Oh, how I reveled in the sight of his eyes! I couldn't get enough of them. Oh those stunning, deadly eyes! Such a keen edge to them!

Now, it was time to put Black Cat back to work.

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(Sven's POV)

Ever since Train had been kidnapped by Shiki, we've been trying to track them down. Well, _I_ have. Eve just kind of tagged along after me when I went to investigate. I don't know what she did, or how she did it, but she actually tracked down Creed's hiding place before I did.

What surprised me more was that she actually seemed to care about Train.

So that's where we're heading right now.

Or rather, that's where we _were_ heading to, before my car broke down. Now we were in a nearby café, trying to figure out what to do next. I was getting kind of worried about Eve. She hadn't said much since Train disappeared. Some reason, I felt that she was thinking of what Torneo had done to her. He had brainwashed her and used her, and both of us instinctively knew that that's exactly what Creed was doing to Train. After all, he had so many lackeys with an alarming array of Taoist powers. How hard would it be to find one with the power to brainwash victims was it? What worried me most wasn't how Train was doing. Even in a brainwashed state, I felt that he'd be strong enough to take care of himself.

No, it was how Eve was taking this whole thing that worried me the most. Throughout the entire process, she had been in a frenzy, overworking herself to the point of passing out. And there was nothing I could say or do to reassure her. I put on a bright façade, but truthfully, I didn't think we'd be able to win. Our best bet in beating the Apostles had been Train, and now he was gone. We had one other choice, but I didn't even want to consider it.

But really. How were Eve and I to get to our destination if my car had broken down? I doubted anyone in Stock Town would want to give us a ride to a place nobody's ever returned from.

Just then, I heard a feminine scream coming from nearby.

"Aw, crap!" I yelled. "Come on, Eve. The duty of a gentleman calls!"

I grabbed her arm, and without waiting for a reply, dragged her along with me, running the direction the scream came from.

As we rounded the corner, another scream reverberated through the streets, full of primal fear and panic, but ended with an abrupt choking sound. The streets had emptied when the first scream had come; people had no wish to involve themselves in dangerous activity.

We came to the entrance of a dark alleyway. There inside was a young woman, probably around twenty-two years old, give or take, of clear Asian descent. And clearly in danger. Her attacker had his back to us, but I recognized that silhouette. Nobody else in any city I've been to regularly walks around with a silk top hat.

Charden Flamberg turned his head around slowly, taking in the sight of us. As usual he wore his tinted glasses that made reading his expression difficult. However, a slow smile bloomed on his face.

"Ahh, yes. I thought that would get you to come. After all, how could a _gentleman_ ignore the scream of a damsel in distress?" It made my blood broil to hear him, his voice dripping with blatant contempt.

"What is it you're after?" I asked him coldly. I noticed that his hand was bleeding, the blood tendrils that had extended towards the girl retreating. The poor girl was pressed as far back against the wall as she could go, as if she wanted to melt into the masonry. The whites of her eyes were clearly visible in a mask of terror.

He had already started to use his Tao before I had arrived. He'd probably kill the girl anyway, if I wasn't careful; she had seen too much.

Charden spun around all the way and took a couple steps towards me. I saw the poor girl sag down as he distanced himself from her. I was worried about how she was taking all this, but it would have to wait until after I took care of Charden.

He tossed something at me, which I caught. It was an envelope, thick creamy paper and expensive embossing. "My superior merely wished for me to deliver to you an invitation. Details are enclosed." He sketched a shallow bow. "My mission has been completed. Excuse me." He brushed past me, out of the alley, turned the corner, the disappeared from sight.

As soon I was certain he was gone, I spun around to attend to the girl. Eve had beaten me to her, and was already helping her up. She looked haggard, and a bruise was forming on her throat. Charden must have been trying to get her shut up without killing her.

She coughed a couple times, and under Eve's support, sat fully upright. She turned a bleary eye upward, and said in a hoarse whisper, "Oh, it's you, Sven."

And that's when it finally hit me. It had been so long since I had last seen her that it took me this long to finally recognize her.

Aria Tsukitama, the alias of Mina Yang. Her real name was rarely known, and it was a miracle I had been able to trace it. Known in the underworld by a variety of nicknames, some of which include "the Macabre Songstress," "Belladonna," "Gilded Nightingale." She was reputed to have studied and mastered some form of divine musicology, and could employ sounds to achieve astounding results. No wonder Charden went straight for her throat.

I was surprised that Charden was able to incapacitate her. Even without her music, she was a formidable opponent, not to be underestimated by her delicate appearance.

"Ugg. Idiot blind-sided me. Came at me head-on first, drove me into the alley. Struck me from behind with his stupid blood thing, started choking me," she muttered angrily, a touch of bleariness in her tone. I immediately started to check for head wounds. She looked up, suddenly completely lucid. "He had help. Help from another Tao master. I can only think of one such person."

Oh, I knew all too well, and she knew it.

I needed to check her for trauma and give her some rest. If she has indeed been fighting against the power of another Tao master unawares, she would need a bit of time to recover.

I helped her up, then started leading her back to our hotel room, Eve following closely.

"Come, on," I said gently. "Let's get you cleaned up."

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**A/N - Part of what I struggle with while writing is my need for perfection. If something doesn't come out phrased exactly right, I tend to find myself stuck at that point. Yes, I know it's very bad, but it has developed into habit, and I'm trying to break it. It's a big deterrent to my writing, however**.

**Anyway, please R&R. I'd love to hear opinions, ideas, whatever. Ideas are welcome, although I can't guarantee that I'll use them.  
**


	3. The Chapter in which Nothing Happens

_Disclaimer – I don't own Black Cat or the original characters. My characters are my own._

A/N – FYI "Fun Fact" Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't blatantly write out whose POV I'm writing from, but seeing as this is a fanfic, I felt it would be better to clarify. Besides, that's just how my fanfic writing style works. ^^

I've read the review I got, and as for showing more of Train, I'll get to it. I'm setting the stage, introducing the actors, organizing the scene, etc. Oh, you'll get to see Train soon. Plenty of Train. (O.o that sounded weird...)

Ehhhh I know my writing's a little slow. I tend to over-describe, and so it gets boring...

**Chapter Three  


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(Sven's POV)

Eve had gone out to get Aria some new clothes, but was back already. She had been quiet all throughout getting back to our hotel room with Aria, and only after I settled her in my bed to let Aria get some rest did Eve speak.

"You know her?" she asked quietly.

I half-turned around, a little surprised. There was something in her tone, something off, but I couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"Yeah," I replied gently. "Aria Tsukitama, infamous underworld leader of Black Dahlia. I knew her from when I was still in the IBI. She was my contact to the criminal underworld. I'd saved her a couple of times before, helped her establish her power within the notorious underworld group Black Dahlia, though it was none of my doing when she quickly climbed to the top as leader. She still felt that she owed me a great debt, and I couldn't sway her to think otherwise, but I had to admit that being able to call on her help has facilitated many operations in years past. She also works as a sweeper, though mostly for entertainment, and I've seen her around a couple times on the job."

Eve sat quietly for a moment, the looked up. "She's a criminal?" she asked, glancing cautiously at the prone figure on the bed.

I sighed. "She's technically retired now, although I'm not entirely sure of her criminal activity. For all I know, she might still be involved in Black Dahlia. I'd like to think not, that my presence in her life has made a difference, but I might just be fooling myself..." I leaned over and tenderly smoothed the hair away from Aria's sleeping face. Despite the possibility of her continued criminal activity, it _was_ good to see her again. If you had randomly met her on the street, you would never had been able to tell that she was so well-known in the criminal underworld. She seemed like every other young woman her age, and sometimes seemed even younger.

I glanced over at Eve, and, seeing her expression, stated, "Oh, there definitely won't be a bounty for her. She way to careful to let herself or members of her organization get caught by the police."

Eve looked slightly disappointed, but conceded in silence.

Aria stirred, then sat up. "You idiot," she muttered. "Why don't you write a biography and forward it to the police for editing before getting it published? You gonna spend millions on the advertising? No wait, scratch that. Knowing you, you'd probably be too broke and too in debt to offer any advertising. I don't associate with you so that you can go around telling my life story to everyone and his maiden aunt! Don't give me excuses about that girl being trustworthy, won't blab to anyone, knows how to hold her tongue, blah, blah, blah. It's _my_ life. _I_ get to decide, and you know it. I've told you before, and I expected you to remember."

She pushed herself up higher, grumbling, "Well, never mind that for now. We got to take care of business first. I've heard a lot, and recently, I've heard that you lost one of your associates. Do you want to get him back?"

I blinked. "How did you know?"

I hadn't expected her to know that much, at least, not for a while. But then, this wouldn't be the first time I'd underestimated her information network.

She gave me a scathing look, then repeated irritably, "Do you want to get Train back?"

"Wha...that...but...Yeah. I want to get Train back," I stuttered.

Her look of contempt returned. "Give me, like, half an hour of quiet time, and then we'll get to business. I'm of no use if I only have enough energy to regain consciousness. Just let me set up something first. You and Eve can stay to watch if you want. After that, then out with you." She looked up and, seeing my anxious expression, her features melted into a more sympathetic expression. "Relax, Sven. You take too much responsibility sometimes. Nothing's going to happen to Train until we can go rescue him."

I sighed, then acquiesced. As usual, she had been able to read me like a book. Her words rang with a certainty that was impossible to doubt.

She turned and pulled a small lyre and plectrum. "I'm going to start off a melody for soothing and healing," she murmured, strumming with the plectrum. Beautiful music poured out from the vibrating strings. The atmosphere of the room lightened; the room seemed to brighten, and I felt more vigorous. I could see similar results in Eve, and knew that we were witnessing Aria's powers in work.

She played for a couple more minutes, making the music more complex and the harmony fuller. She herself was looking better in response to the influences of her music. "I'm increasing the potency of the music," she murmured. "This will help me get as much healing as I can in the little time I have."

The music continued to increase in complexity and beauty, every note making the room seem livelier than the last.

Soon, Aria seemed to deem it acceptable. She murmured, "_Remanere_."

She gently moved her hands away from the lyre and plectrum, yet the plectrum continued to play. "There," she said, satisfied. "That should keep it going for a while." She looked up and, seeing still there staring in turn from her to the lyre, said crossly. "You. Both of you. Show's over. Now shoo."

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**A/N - Don't need to tell me it's too long and nothing much happens. I know that already. I tend to set the stage too much sometimes, but I'm keeping this. I might go back and edit it later, but it's highly likely I won't get to it. **

**Anyway, please R&R. Also, if anything on Aria's powers confuse you, feel free to ask/ask for a more in-depth explanation. I'd be happy to provide more info.  
**


	4. Catfight

_DISCLAIMER – Don't own Black Cat, blah, blah, blah. Lo and behold, my wit forsakes me._

**Chapter Four

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(Sven's POV)

Eve had clearly resented Aria's presence, and was clearly still pissed off, even after a trip to the Stock Town public library. She had been able to track down Creed and the Apostles to Stock Town, but had lost the trail when she neared this area. It was too large to search blindly, and there had been no other leads. It must really gall her that Aria had the exact location of Creed's hide out, especially since she had been trying so hard to prove herself.

"Eve," I said, and waited for her to turn around. "Listen. You've done a great job already, tracking down Creed to here. Yeah, you weren't able to find the exact location, but you've already gotten farther than I have. It'll be easier to narrow it down from here, so don't worry too much about it. If we hadn't gotten here, we wouldn't have bumped into Aria, who actually has the final destination. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to find Creed."

She gave me a baleful look, then turned around and kept walking. Huh? What had I said wrong?

I mulled over it as we walked up the stairs of the hotel to our room. As we opened the door, and walked in, Eve made a small noise of surprise in her throat. I looked up, and finally saw that something was wrong. The room was empty. Aria was gone.

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"What the heck!" I cried. "She ran off!"

I wheeled around, prepared to dash out the door in a futile attempt to search for her when a firm, but gentle, tug on my sleeve halted me.

"Eve!" I exclaimed. "I need to go after her! I might still be able to catch up!"

I turned around and saw Eve pointing to a note lying on the table, "Sven and Eve" written on it in an androgynous square hand. Aria sure knew how to protect her anonymity. I remembered seeing some of her handwriting before she came to power, and it was a good deal more...feminine, I guess.

"Uhh...or reading the note would work too..." I trailed off.

Eve picked it up and silently handed it to me. I sighed, then opened it.

_Done recuperating, went to get some food.__  
Meet me at Amaryllis Café.  
-Aurelia_

"Aurelia?" Eve asked. She had been reading it over my elbow, and was more confused by the name it was signed by than the actual message.

I smiled. "'Aurelia' is what Aria signs her notes. At least, what she signs the notes she sends me. It's very likely that it's just one among many. Actually, I'd be very surprised if the three aliases of hers I knew were her only ones. It seems uncharacteristic. But anyway. We should probably go to this café."

I looked up from the note to Eve.

"Do you have any idea where it might be?"

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We were soon standing in front of the café storefront. I blinked around at the surroundings, surprised.

"Wow, Eve!" I exclaimed, turning around to congratulate her. "I can't believe you were able to track down the café in so little time!"

I jumped. She seemed to be burning with a kind of fervor. "I pass the test, don't I?" she murmured, clearly not directed as me.

I swallowed, then decided to just let this blow over. I don't think I'll ever completely understand women.

* * *

It wasn't hard to locate Aria in the café, even though it was almost full. The table she had chosen had been in a semi-secluded corner, out of earshot of any of the other tables. Afternoon tea had already been ordered, which two extra places clearly set for me and Eve.

As we approached, Eve suddenly transformed her hand into a long knife, and in an instant had it against Aria's throat. Aria calmly finished sipping her tea, then gracefully set it down on the table, for all like she didn't have a knife pressed into her neck.

Eve pressed the knife harder into Aria's neck, but not hard enough yet to draw blood. "Why should we trust you?" she asked quietly.

Aria completely ignored both her and the knife, picked up a scone, and took a delicate bite.

"Why should we trust you?" Eve repeated louder. I could see her tensing to push the knife harder into Aria's throat, and shot my arm out to restrain her arm, when suddenly, Aria leaned back. Eve lunged forward, but her blade was caught by a knife that had appeared almost like magic in Aria's hand.

I pulled Eve's arm back, and said quietly to her, "Eve. Behave yourself. I know you have reason to distrust her, but she's our best bet. Besides, she'd be a formidable enemy to insult."

Eve slowly drew her arm back, changing her hand back to its original form. Aria similarly put her knife away, hiding it in a secret sheath hidden somewhere about her person. She did it so fast that I hadn't been able to see where she had put it.

"It's alright Sven," she said, getting up and turned so her back faced us. "This time, I've earned her doubt."

Suddenly, she turned her head towards us and smirked. "I'll answer your question. Why should you trust me? Because," she sang, "I'll give you what you waaant~!" She twirled in a circle, stopping abruptly when she was facing us full front. "You _do_ want the location of Creed's hide-out, right?" Without waiting for an answer, she took her seat again, correctly assuming that our answer would be affirmative. "How about we have some tea first?"

We sat down across from her, and she slipped us a little slip of paper.

I took it opened it. The only thing written in it was "K74291."

I looked up at her, puzzled.

She smiled at me conspiratorially and said simply, "The Apostles' hide-out."

**

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A/N – I'm not sure how many people are sure of this, and I don't really remember how clear I made it in my past chapters, but Mina Yang is Aria Tsukitama's real name, and mainly why she gives Sven so much BS. It was actually kind of an accident that he found out, but that doesn't change the fact that he knows, or the fact that Aria's pretty pissed off at him for knowing. XD Thus ends my little FYI**

**Please R&R, yeah.**


	5. The Chapter of Kind of Useful Info

_DISCLAIMER –Don't own Black Cat or any of the characters in it. Aria's all mine though._

**Chapter Five

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Aria passed a sheaf of paper to me. Puzzled, I looked through it, and saw that it was a relatively in-depth profile of each known member of the Apostles.

I looked up amazed, to see her sly smile. "Of course, I have a condition. An obvious one. Bring me along. I have a personal score to settle with Shiki."

She frowned, then cocked her head, as if she suddenly remembered something.

"Hey," she asked slowly. "Didn't Charden pass you an invitation from Creed? After he attacked me?"

I stared at her in amazement. I had totally forgotten about that, what in the confusion of things. I pulled it out of my pocket, where I had stuffed it before helping Aria up that day in the alley. Eve sat by quietly, eyes burning with a frenzied fervor at having been one-upped.

I slowly opened it, pulling out the luxurious stationary inside. Inside was a card, printed with a message. It read:

_Dear Sven and Eve,_  
_I have reclaimed my partner, Train. However, this is not a card to gloat. I know the pain of losing a companion, and so wish to offer you the opportunity to get him back. The first step is to find my hide-out. Come to my hide-out in three days time at noon, and you shall be granted entrance and safe passport into my domain. Your escort will wait there. None shall harm you, except as detailed in each trial. Instructions for each subsequent trial will be provided at the conclusion of the previous trial. Happy hunting.  
-Creed, Train's only partner, for now and ever._

_Enshrouded in shadows, but burning with light.  
It's not how you battle; it's how you fight._

Aria, who had been reading it upside down from across the table let out a slight whistle of air. "Sheesh, did you see how he signed it? 'Train's only partner, for now and ever.' He sure has grown sure of himself. Maybe it's time to pay him a visit, teach him another lesson." The last part had come out in a softer murmur, and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear it. I suppressed the urge to swallow nervously. Again, I was seeing evidence that there were things in Aria's past that I couldn't even begin to guess.

Looking up, her eyes softened. "Don't worry, Sven. We'll definitely get Train back. Of course, you're not entirely worried about that right now; you're too busy obsessing over my past. However, I believe that the problem of Train's liberation should come before your need to dig into my 'deep-dark' secrets."

I blinked in surprise. Her smiled widened, and she continued, "Now you're wondering if I can read your thoughts, as you have so many times before. The answer is no. Seeing as I just successfully predicted your question and promptly presented you with the answer you expected me to give, you're wondering if I'm lying. I'm not. I'm not reading your thoughts. I'm reading your actions and making educated guesses on how you'll react based on your personality and past experience. In other words, you're predictable."

Her smirk turned into a sympathetic smile. "I'm not as blasé as I pretend to be."

I gaped at her, then frowned. I couldn't shake off an extreme sense of déjà vu. "Why do I feel like this has happened before?" I asked uncertainly.

"Because it has," she answered matter-of-factly. "You just don't remember because I make you forget. Speaking of which, you and Eve do me a favor of forgetting about this when this is over. Do it in a way that you won't notice you're forgetting something."

I stared at her in amazement, while Eve shot beams of hostility her way. "You don't seriously expect us to just conveniently forget, right?" I asked skeptically.

She beamed at me, the way you would at a two-year old who had just made an adorable mistake. "Of course I do. Like I've said, it's not like you'll have much of a choice. Besides, I've done it to you before. What makes you think I can't do it to you again? As for Eve, I assume that she has functioning ears and a functioning brain, which means I'd be able to affect her as easily as I do everyone else, despite her nanomachines." Glancing dismissively over at Eve, who looked like a panther ready to pounce, she continued, "And don't hold yourself at ready to block off your hearing every times I speak, Eve. It's already planted. It will take effect at the necessary time, so there's not much you can do about that."

Again, she surprises me with the speediness of her work. "That favor you asked us, that was you doing it, right?"

She beamed across the table at me, like a proud kindergarten teacher. "Very good, Sven." I almost expected her to give me a cookie, or a gold star sticker, or something like that. Almost. "Yes, as you may know, language is just a variant of song. Even when not pitched into melody, each word has a certain individual music to it. The way sounds are strung together to form words can be paralleled to the way notes are strung together to form certain melodies. By varying the tone with which I say something, it is possible for me to achieve the same results with speech as I would with a played or sung song."

She paused, and took a breath. "That's all for now. Class dismissed."

She got up, smirking, and promptly left, tossing several bills onto the table to pay for the meal.

I scrambled after her, dragging Eve with me.

* * *

"I understand that you have no plan," Aria said, walking swiftly. I labored to keep up. Even though I was taller than her, she tended to move at a faster pace. Still graceful, and still serene, just fast. I was already sweating, but she wasn't even panting. "According to Creed's message, your first task is to find his hide-out. I doubt that he thinks his hide-out so well hidden that it would take you very long to find out, especially since he's going to consider the fact that you probably have a lot of help. I don't think that's the real first trial. I think there's more to it. He wants you there in three days – two now – at noon. There's got to be some kind of significance about that time. And something about the last couplet. 'Enshrouded in shadows,' yet 'burning with light.' It's an oxymoron, a paradox. It's obviously meant to say something, but I think it's not what we should mainly be focusing on.

"'It's not how we battle; it's how we fight.' This probably indicates that he thinks tactics won't do much. We're supposed to rely on raw strength for this one, and technique. Planned maneuvers won't work. This is something that will change, be unpredictable to such a degree that we're going to need either a very flexible plan, or a plan with several alternatives that we could use in different cases. I'd go with the former, just because it's less to memorize. Also, we don't know exactly who we're going to be going against. You can tell it's going to only be one adversary, at least this first time around. He mentions only one escort."

She glanced back at us, struggling to keep up. "We should probably collaborate when we fight, seeing as we won't be able to progress until we finish the current task, so splitting up won't do us any good. Also, by helping each other, we'd be able to allow others to save some energy, as opposed to if we had just fought alone. We'll work out strategies later.

"You should know that Creed has a new Taoist. Well, several, actually, but a new one that definitely concerns this matter directly. His name is Colden Aruspekz, and his power works with memories. I'm not sure if it works with the soul and personality, but I'd think that one's memories definitely influences both. I'm just giving you a heads up. I don't think getting Train away from Creed would be our biggest problem. I'm pretty sure that Creed has used some kind of assurance to keep Train with him. I doubt even Creed is optimistic enough to assume that Train would stay from the pleasure of his company. By the way, I've been recruited by Creed. "

She suddenly came to a halt. I stumbled, nearly crashing into her back. "Wha-what?" I managed to stutter. Had I heard her correctly?

She looked back at me, biting back a smile. I recognized that look. She knew what I was asking, but was going to choose to ignore it.

"Open the door." I looked up at her, then looked around, surprised. We had arrived in front of our hotel room. "You're the one with the key."

* * *

**A/N – Ugg it's going slower than I want it to, but I don't want to cut any of it. I feel like there's been too much talking recently. Part of the problem is I need to set it up somehow, and the other part is that I'm starting to run out of ideas. **

**Anyway, R&R. I love your reviews. They give me the motivation to keep going XD.  
**


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